This is an occasional commentary on the travel literature (or books, maybe, as most of it could not be classed as literature) that I read, or have read over the years.

Saturday, October 08, 2005

A Fortune-Teller Told Me - Earthbound Travels in the Far East

This is a book by Tiziano Terzani. Great name - Great book!

This man is a hugely experienced correspondent in the Far East for Der Spiegel. He has lived for over 25 years there, travelling around from country to country. He was advised by a Hong Kong fortune teller not to fly for the whole of a particular year, and that is precisely what he tried to do!

This is the story of that year. How he carried on working but going overland, and also about his encounters with the many fortune tellers and shaman he visited during that year. I won't tell you whether he is a believer in this sort of thing or not. You can find out for yourself when you read it, which you surely must.

I never expected very much from this book as I had never heard of this man. I was so, so disappointed when I had finished it (you know how it is when you don't want a book to finish) and wanted to move to Asia straightaway. It is one of the best books (never mind travel books) that I have read. It is beautifully written, evocative and by someone who loves the Far East. It really is a quite extraordinary story.